Pink Moon over the Treetops

I had read that the full moon was to rise last night — the so-called Pink Moon. Alexa told me it would occur around 11:30pm. While that is rather late to stumble around in the dark, I was willing to make the effort. However, I was saved when Alexa later, to the question framed differently, told me that the moon would rise at 7:40. 

It was discrepancy that made sense when I thought about it. The moon would rise at 7:40 but technically wouldn't be full until 11:30. It's much like the equinox. We call the whole day when the sun is  directly above the equator, The Equinox, but if you ask Alexa (or Siri or Cortana or whomever and whatever), she will give you the precise moment that the sun reaches fullness.

I had picked out a spot by the river where Danica and I had spotted the moon back at Christmas. It had then been directly across the river from us. However, the earth tilts differently in April, so the moon rose farther downriver. I was barely able to make photos from my chosen vantage point, but I managed.

From my observation point, the moon didn't rise at 7:40 because it had to climb over the trees.  I didn't begin to see it until after 8.

While, of course, I wanted the moon to be clear of the trees across the river, I was also happy to take photos of the rising.

All along, I had wanted the treetops in the photo(s) and not just the moon because I like context in my photos, if possible. However, by the time that Pinky cleared the trees, it was so bright that s/he came out as an overexposed, white circle. I began to take two exposures, a lighter one for the scene and a darker one for the the moon. I then blended them in post.

I had got the shot that I had come for of the full moon over the trees, particularly the photo below. While it is not the most spectacular lunar photo ever, I did the best I could at that location that night with the equipment at my disposal.

The treetops are subtle, but they're there.

In the process, I did take a different photo to get the context of the location and particularly the reflection on the river. Once again, it's a two-photo merge.

By zooming out so much to incorporate the whole scene, Pinky looked pretty small: smaller in camera than what I felt that I was seeing with my eyes. I therefore decided,to embiggen her (above), just a tad, in that one photo.

So often, the full moon occurs on a cloudy night when it is obscured or too early in the day when it is still too bright, so I lucked out to some degree. The location didn't give me the very best angle, but the results were fair, enough, and I am not disappointed.